Confrontation occurs between UH security and Rice student section
Security at the University of Houston ordered around 150 Rice students to vacate the bleachers in Section 125 at TDECU Stadium during Saturday’s football game between the two schools.
The Owls were represented by a large crowd at TDECU Stadium as Rice Rally Club gave out more than 600 tickets for students to attend this year’s game for free, according to club president Priya Armour.
Late in the first quarter, several members from Andy Frain Security Service, a third-party security entity, entered Section 125 and told Rice students to refrain from standing on the bleachers during the game. According to Baker College freshman Jake Chapman, security told students they could sit on the bleachers or stand on the concrete instead.
Darshan Shankar, a Baker freshman, said students initially obeyed security but found their request odd.
“UH students in the student section were doing the exact same thing,” Shankar said.
Later in the first half, some students resumed standing on top of bleachers, which prompted an additional visit from security.
Will Rice College junior James Puckett was alarmed by remarks made by security during their second visit to Section 125, including comments such as, “This isn’t Rice” and “You guys can’t do whatever you want,” he said.
This time, Chapman said security was joined by armed law enforcement officers who allegedly threatened to arrest students who did not comply.
“They sent armed officers in an apparent attempt to intimidate us into following their ridiculous rule,” Chapman said.
“Security [was] yelling, insulting me and threatening me and my friends by saying they would take us to jail for something as simple as standing on the bleachers, something I was not aware we couldn’t do,” Matteo Barone wrote in a message to the Thresher.
Barone said he felt harassed by security and did not understand why they seemed to be enforcing policy for Rice students, but not fans from the University of Houston.
“It just felt like they were discriminating against us for being Rice students and finding any excuse to try and ruin our fun,” Barone, a Baker freshman, said.
As the second half concluded and the game paused for halftime, security ordered most of the Rice students in Section 125 to relocate to seats in the upper levels of the stadium. Chapman and Barone both estimated roughly 150 students were removed from the section.
Students said they were confused about why they were relocated.
Chapman associated the relocation with an earlier issue in which Rice students were denied re-entry to Section 125 after losing their initial tickets.
“Some of my friends had difficulty returning to the section after going to the bathroom or getting food,” he said. “Apparently, you had to show your ticket again, and most people had thrown theirs away. Most of my friends managed to sneak back in. Following this, they sent the same armed officers to vacate the entire section row by row for seemingly no reason.”
Puckett was under a similar impression, noting that “security came back and asked to see everyone’s tickets to make sure they were in the proper section, so they could kick us out.”
“The annoying thing is that us not being in assigned seats was never the issue,” Puckett added. “There were many empty seats throughout the stadium. It was clearly just an excuse to get us out because they didn’t like the way Rice students didn’t listen to them when told to sit down.”
Shankar believed that students were relocated because they had resumed standing on the bleachers. He, too, said he felt as though Rice students were treated unfairly by security.
“The staff were unnecessarily rude and it seemed like they were targeting Rice students just because,” Shankar said.
In an email to the Thresher, University of Houston Vice President for Media Relations Shawn Lindsey wrote, “The individuals seated in Section 125 did not possess tickets for that area. They were instructed to relocate to their assigned seats. No one was asked to leave the stadium; rather, they were asked to vacate the seats for which they did not hold tickets, ensuring that ticketed guests could occupy their designated seats.”
The majority of seats in Section 125 remained empty after students were removed.
Shankar and Puckett both confirmed that some Rice students had tickets for Sections 225 and 226, but they were under the impression that other Rice students had been assigned valid tickets for Section 125.
“I believe some students may have had [Section] 125 seats, and because most seats down there were open, most of us [in the second level] decided to go down to 125 for a better experience,” Puckett said. “The cheerleaders and dance team were in front of 125, so most of us assumed it was our student section, and we didn’t seem to be bothering anyone. It’s college football, after all.”
Students were dispersed to various sections in the venue by security, with many being ordered to sit in Section 225. Once that section became full, students made their way to the third and highest level of seats.
Individuals in the student section felt that while security was never hostile and some staff acted professionally, most behaved out of line.
“The majority were just acting rude and aggressive,” Barone said.
Bridges also observed security taking handmade signs from Rice students in Section 125 before they were relocated.
“The regulations felt targeted because we were energetic and not the home team,” Bridges said. “They didn’t check any other tickets, for example. I’m guessing taking the signs was a little silly and wouldn’t have happened if they were signs supporting the home team.”
Rice students watched the remainder of the game from their newly-assigned sections without further incident. The crowd slowly dissipated as the clock wound down on Rice’s loss to Houston, 33-7. For many students, the repeated confrontations with security left a bitter taste in their mouths than the loss itself.
“All of these events leave me to believe that UH childishly wanted to create a hostile environment for the visitor’s student section,” Chapman said.
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Rice football falls 33-7, loses possession of Bayou Bucket
Rice football’s quest for back-to-back Bayou Bucket titles fell short as the Owls lost to the University of Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium, 33-7, on Saturday evening.
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